Orfevre ran away, fleeing in a disheveled state for a reason she herself wasn't entirely sure about; she simply couldn't bear to continue listening to them.
Ikezoe praised her highly, saying the things he had said to her many times before—words Orfevre had initially thought were merely flattery.
Even though Orfevre's talent finally emerged later on, with her now thinking that Ikezoe merely had a good eye, she still didn't believe she could become as strong as the "Orfevre" in Ikezoe's mouth.
However, some words feel different when said to oneself compared to when said to others. Many people in this world share a strange commonality: they are reserved in front of those they are close to, yet open up in front of strangers.
Perhaps it's because they only see it as a fleeting encounter, and they might not meet again in the future, allowing them to reveal more truths. But regardless of whether Ikezoe is truly such a person, the current Orfevre feels that this was the case—and that's enough.
"I- Ikezoe... t- that bastard... just a mere Trainer..."
"W- wahhhhh... my face is so red now... how can I go back and see him now..."
Orfevre wailed, covering her face tightly. She had no idea how she could face Ikezoe now.
Although Ikezoe was unaware of her eavesdropping on him, practically the entire team, including Curren Chan, had also eavesdropped with her. There was no way she could just pretend like nothing had happened, right?
Orfevre's heart was rapidly pounding. Although she appeared to be an unruly delinquent on the surface, she was actually quite innocent inside.
Before she met Ikezoe, she had never held hands with another man other than her father... Most humans either feared her temper or didn't dare to approach her due to her appearance.
Orfevre didn't think she was particularly good-looking... Gold Ship could be considered a stunning beauty if she took off that hat of hers, but Orfevre didn't have such a limiter. The way she looked every day at school was her absolute best.
And at home, whether it was her oldest sister, Dream Journey, Nakayama Festa, or Gold Ship, all of her sisters inherited the good genes of the Gold Family while she inherited all the bad ones.
This also left Orfevre feeling constantly insecure about her appearance; not to mention, her leader was Tosen Jordan, who was a true and very attractive gal. (T/N: Orfevre and Tosen Jordan both spent time at the same training center, where Jordan was considered the boss horse.)
Not to mention Curren Chan who was in the same team as her; in this regard, Orfevre had never been confident. Although she also felt that Ikezoe cared for her, she had never thought that he liked her.
After all, the reason why she and Ikezoe even became trainee and Trainer was because of her oldest sister's persuasion.
But now, Orfevre's feelings had changed. An idea had speared and drilled itself into her mind.
'What if... just what if... Ikezoe actually likes me?'
'What should I do? Do I even like Ikezoe? Tha- th- that can't be, right?'
Orfevre immediately cast such "terrifying" thoughts aside. She knew how she treated Ikezoe; she herself had an inexplicable "irritable" emotion towards Ikezoe, usually resulting in her kicking him...
Moreover, after Orfevre awakened her talent, this irritating feeling also gradually became stronger. Her attitude towards Ikezoe began to worsen day by day, the desire to kick him becoming more and more intense, sometimes even to the point where she couldn't control herself.
In such a situation, it was already a miracle that the two had not become mortal enemies, but Orfevre herself knew that Ikezoe had done nothing wrong; the fault lay with her, with her uncontrollable instinct.
But... suddenly it turns out that Ikezoe might actually still like her. Orfevre felt that all of this was a bit too surreal, even to the point of being incomprehensible to her.
Was Ikezoe a masochist? Is that why he still likes me after I've kicked him so many times? If he's not a masochistic pervert, then what is it?!
Orfevre didn't want to believe, and didn't dare to believe. However, at this moment, her deepest question, which she had cast aside earlier, surfaced in her mind.
That is... does she like Ikezoe?
"I definitely do not li..."
Orfevre mumbled to herself, but in the end, she silently closed her mouth, unwilling to say anything more, just quietly covering her face and lowering her head.
However, her drooping ears and the tail wagging joyfully behind her seemed to have already revealed the true answer deep within Orfevre's heart at this moment...
It's just that her rational side was still in self-denial, and if her emotional side surpasses her rational side one day, it would probably be the time when Orfevre finally accepted her inner thoughts...
...
...
After that small talk with Maruzensky, everyone acted as if nothing had happened. Ikezoe returned to Tracen and he trained Curren Chan and Orfevre as usual.
Their upcoming training schedules were very crucial as Ikezoe was very eager to put the things he learned from Maruzensky into practice.
However, Ikezoe quickly encountered another problem...
"Um... Orfevre?"
When Ikezoe called out this name, which he had painstakingly managed to utter again, Orfevre's body involuntarily shivered. Her ears drooped slightly, and she unnaturally turned her head to look at him.
"W-what do you want?"
'...Why does she seem a little off?' Seeing this, Ikezoe also tilted his head. This was the first time he had seen Orfevre like this, and he couldn't help but ask:
"Are you alright, Orfevre? You don't seem to be in good shape right now. How about taking a day off if you feel tired? Our training doesn't need to be rushed."
"—No need." Orfevre, hearing this, unnaturally waved her hand, her eyes flickering as she looked elsewhere and said,
"Isn't this just training? I'll just go to the track field now, Trainer. Y- you don't need to worry about me; it's annoying."
"Um..." But before Ikezoe could say anything, Orfevre quickly left. Ikezoe, watching Orfevre's unnatural, uncoordinated departure, couldn't help but turn to Curren Chan and ask:
"Curren Chan, what's wrong with Orfevre?"
"Hehe, unfortunately, Curren Chan doesn't know either. Perhaps it's because she's on her 'day'?" Curren Chan smiled slightly, pretending to be ignorant while knowing full well what transpired that day.
Curren Chan had now officially classified Orfevre as an "opponent," and a very formidable one at that.
However, Curren Chan was very sure that in the short term, Orfevre and Ikezoe would not make any progress.
And the same went for her, because she knew very well that they were currently in a critical period of their racing careers.
Given Ikezoe's serious and responsible attitude as a Trainer, even if he did realize it, he would find a way to delay it.
Therefore, expressing her feelings for a critical blow at this time was the wrong choice, but this did not prevent Curren Chan from launching a powerful offensive, gradually gaining an advantageous position...
...
...
"Now that's surprising, McQueen. I didn't expect something like this to happen in your team."
Orfevre, walking towards the training ground with uncoordinated steps, naturally attracted many gazes, with Mejiro Ryan being one of them.
She was currently sitting with McQueen, asking her sister with great interest:
"So, McQueen, have you found your so-called 'soul mate' yet? Or have you at least experienced the taste of love?"
"...Not yet."
McQueen put down her teacup and sighed softly, saying: "Although this is indeed what I wanted to see, but... I don't know why, I feel like I can't quite experience... what love feels like."
"Love isn't something you can learn by watching, little sis." Ryan smiled slightly upon hearing this and said,
"You should pay more attention to the people close to you, and see if there's anything about them that attracts you."
"Think about the people you feel close to, McQueen; they must have something you like about them. Although I don't understand much either, I think you can give it a try."
"People close to me, huh..."
McQueen nodded silently upon hearing Ryan's suggestion. She thought it was a good idea to look at the people around her; perhaps their common traits would help her in finding the type of person she likes.
-----+-----
:)
-----+-----
If you spot any errors, feel free to comment about it and I will fix it as soon as I can.